


Now orbiting Kadara

by chetvero



Series: Stuck in Gravity [1]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Denial of Feelings, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-08-14 12:00:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20191921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chetvero/pseuds/chetvero
Summary: Smuggler's life on Kadara is dangerous.  Reyes-centric story with lots of dialogues, sarcasm and introspections





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Now orbiting Kadara](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/506551) by hedera_helix. 

> This is a translation of wonderful story (see link above). I'm not native speaker, so let me know if something is terribly wrong with the text. Comments are always appreciated!

"Let me ask this again," Reyes spit blood on the concrete floor and wiped his mouth over shoulder. "So. You, good gentlemen led by a stunning lady," he winked to the mentioned lady with his good eye, "conducted this great kidnapping operation of some random guy because…?"

He was stalling as long as he could: pretended to be unconscious, offered creds, asked and begged, even simply chatted though trying not to provoke some homicide. So, if somebody, probably Keema, was going to rescue him, it was time to show up. And if no – such possibility always existed – well, he’d have to go through this on his own. Not that he didn’t have such experience. At least, they were still on Kadara – there could be no mistake with the significant smell.

"Stop fucking around, Vidal," the stunning lady – krogan female with an elegant blue ornament painted on fringe said. "We know everything."

Reyes straightened himself on a chair, ignoring the pain in twisted shoulders. He narrowed his eyes, gaze became cold and attentive. He willed himself not to panic yet and asked:

"Is that so?"

"Why not?" Krogan lady put her arms on waist. "Did you even try to hide?"

Reyes strongly disagreed on that point. The Collective structure in general and his own role in it were probably the cherry on the top of his spy career. And young krogan female in battered armour wasn’t even close to counter-espionage genius. She looked more like a person with straightforward approach to all issues – with right hook to jaw.

"Who sold us out?" His "third rate smuggler" mask was barely holding, and only some gut feeling was still keeping Reyes in his usual role. "Come on, you’ll kill me anyway, so...?"

"Oh relax, nobody sold you out. We are not blind, you know," she laughed. "Don’t act surprised, didn’t you go all over your boyfriend in the middle of “Kralla’s”? And why would we kill you, it’s blackmailing thing, what’s the point? We tried to contact him, but..."

"Boyfriend? "

"Enough!" She came closer making funny small steps (not that Reyes felt like laughing) and hit him one more time. Chair angled dangerously and Reyes wondered about doctor Nakamoto’s qualifications at maxillofacial surgery. "You can fool around as long as you want, but everybody knows that you fuck the Pathfinder. Or he fucks you, or... whatever. So shut the fuck up if you want your boyfriend to recognize you once he’s here."

He shook his head trying to chase away black spots behind his eyes. It was a sure knockdown and she didn’t even try hard.

"So, you are holding me here because you had seen me with the Pathfinder in the bar?" he asked, just in case. Cold fear was already gone and he slumped back in the chair. His smuggler persona was back in place as Charlatan disappeared in the shadows. "Oh, come on, seriously?"

"I have a feeling that you are pissing me off deliberately," krogan lady lifted her hand one more time and Reyes cringed, closing his right eye and lifting shoulders.

"Oh, by your own logic, my lady," he paused and checked teeth with his tongue. No damage so far, "you really should slow down with these exercises. My so-called boyfriend won’t be thrilled if I lose all my good looks, no?"

"Whatever, everyone knows that he is soooo kind hearted, and several bruises won’t stop his love," she put her arm down. "Besides, all we need is a little favour. To find a place for five colonists on one of outposts – should not be a problem for almighty Pathfinder."

"Ay!" Reyes lifted eyebrows, genuinely surprised. "What’s wrong with the marvellous life of fortune soldiers? I’d say you have a real talent for it."

"We are just sick of it," female exhaled sadly and her jade eyes blurred slightly. Reyes looked over others: humans, looking tired and unhappy. Simple workers, probably – technicians, gardeners, cooks – dressed in crappy armour and armed with whatever they could find.

"We didn’t sign up for this shit, you know? It’s now better with the Collective, but still." She turned away – probably to hide her face, like he could read anything on that expression of melancholic iguana.

So, Reyes let himself to smile a little – it was nice to think that he made life on Kadara “better” in just a couple of months. Another source of his joy was the fact, that his kidnappers found out not his secret identity, but only his secret affair. Not like Scott and he tried to be discreet anyway. This thought made him smile again on a memory of Scott’s last visit two weeks ago. He didn’t wait – couldn’t wait – and met him right in the docks, took to more or less secluded place (under the nearest staircase, to be honest) and kissed Scott like crazy, holding him on verge of hypoxia. He kissed Scott until his knees started to give up, until he couldn’t remember where and who he was. He clung to Reyes’s neck, whispering in between kisses how much he missed him, how much (and how exactly) he wanted him. And then he took his hand and brought him back to the Tempest. Just like that.

"My guys and I… We are not suited for this shit," he brought on his usual bored expression right before she turned back to him. "Look at you – you are scum and a liar, so this shithole of Kadara Port is totally your element."

"Why thank you" Reyes pretended to be deeply offended by her words.

"Oh, come on, Vidal," she really smiled this time. "Everyone in the Port know you in-and-out. So, are you gonna call your Pathfinder or want me to scratch you pretty face with my fists again? We hoped he’ll be missing you and try to contact himself by now but this works too."

Reyes wanted to laugh. He was actually surprised that beaten man, tied to a chair in the middle of nowhere could find a reason to laugh, but still wanted to. Collective was safe, Charlatan identity was safe and Ryder was safe. Well, relatively speaking. And even if Reyes couldn’t save Scott from kett, relics and hysterical bosses he could at least save him from mercenaries, desperate krogans and stray bullets. And it didn’t really matter that currently Reyes himself had several cracked ribs and beaten face. He’d think about it later.

"Why don’t you contact him through the Nexus? Make a statement, so to say. Like a broadcast, you know?"

"We thought about it," female admitted. Reyes briefly thought that, on the one hand, his charms worked perfectly even on aggressive intelligent reptiles and, on the other, that his kidnappers were even more stupid that he initially assumed. "But there are two problems."

"Only two?" Reyes just couldn’t stop himself.

She gave him a heavy look:

"Well. One problem, who knows if the boy admits it at all. No offence, Vidal, but you look more like a little dirty secret than… How do you humans call it when it’s all serious? And the other – what’s the point of secret transfer to the outpost if everybody knows who we are, right? Makes sense?"

"Definitely," Reyes was happy to agree with her. Not that he wanted to admit that “dirty little secret” description felt more unpleasant than it should. "But we have another two problems here. I have no idea where Ryder is now and how to contact him. And, even if I knew, he would not come for me anyway."

"Are you saying that you don’t send each other filthy photos over some super-secret channel and blah-blah-blah?" she pointed her eyes on him, disbelieving.

Her instinct didn’t lie: it was exactly what Scott and he were doing last night, right before brick had fallen all over his head from the skies near the Slums gate. Reyes even managed to wonder about that strange miracle of nature – and then he came to senses here, in the middle of nowhere with his hands tied and head hurting like hell.

Now he understood that “sky brick” was, in fact, a fist of young and ambitious krogan lady. Or maybe even her hammer, judging from the intensity of pain in his head. And a photo, that was definitely filthy and meant to distract Reyes in his solitude, did its job well. Even too well, cause he didn’t notice not even closely discreet krogan approaching. Which was humiliating, really.

At least, his omni-tool algorithms should have taken care of all the traces of their messaging by now. Not that these talented mercenaries had managed to at least turn it on yet. All Reyes had to do was lie, so he lied. Lying was what he did best.

"My dear!" he said solemnly. "That’s exactly what I’m saying."

"Meaning...?"

"The Pathfinder doesn’t give a shit about me and my well-being," Reyes didn’t even have to fake the sad smile he gave her. He moved a foot over the floor, raising a cloud of concrete dust. “They should’ve tied legs too,'' he thought absent-mindedly.

"Hey, don’t give me this shit," her confidence was fading like a blood in a stream. "The Pathfinder who can’t pass by three-legged adhi will leave his boyfriend in trouble?" 

"Have no fucking idea," he said honestly. All out of sudden, this strange conversation turned to some kind of soul opening one. "Don’t know about boyfriends, but me – for sure. I’m a smuggler, dear, my job is to get what people want. Ryder wanted many things when he hadccome here: contacts, resources, good fuck, coordinates. I know my job, never had a complaint. And Ryder got most positions of his list for free, so… He was always the one to initiate the contact."

"So, you are saying it was just a fling," she started to believe him even if her gut was telling the opposite.

Suddenly Reyes realized that he was so convincing because he started to believe it too. Or, to be honest, never stopped believing. Something moved deep inside him, something black and cold and unpleasant, so he concentrated on pain in his twisted shoulders and broken lips. Pain was a good distraction.

"Precisely. Sex was good, won’t argue here, but seems like our Pathfinder is not interested in anything more than that. He probably has someone like me in every port. Maybe you should go wider and kidnap them all? And there was some official mail, you should try it too. Just put correct subject. “Kidnapping and blackmailing” something, bold, so he doesn’t miss it among spam and fan letters…"

"You know," krogan lady gave him a smile and unholstered her gun – old Kessler with some handmade upgrades, keeping her eyes on omni’s display. "I almost sympathized with your “unrequited love” story. But it doesn’t fit with the fact that we are having four heat signatures right behind our door."

She crossed the small room, put her men into positions on both sides of the door and stood behind Reyes’s chair, pressing the cold barrel of her Kessler right to his already hurting nape. Reyes just rolled his eyes. “Why are you so sure this is not a pizza delivery?” – he was about to say, but when the door opened to reveal the Scott fucking Ryder, happy as a well-fed cat, all he could breathe out was:

"Oh fuck."


	2. Chapter 2

"I’m so terribly sorry," Ryder even put his hand on his heart, little fucker, "didn’t mean to interrupt your discussion, but… I was going to save one man from evil kidnappers, but overheard that we were just fucking around, so… I should probably get going then!"

"You just suit each other, fucking clowns," she pushed her gun against his head again, hard enough to make Reyes flinch and whine in pain. Something crossed Ryder’s face then, something that made dark and cold deep inside Reyes lay low. "You know what, I’m sick and tired of your fucking shitshow! I’ll just blow this fucker’s brains out and then will break you bones one by one, Pathfinder!"

"You’d better learn with such passion, Nakmor Riv," said someone from the shadows behind Ryders back. Scott didn’t smile anymore and just silently looked over Reyes, his beaten face, blood stains on his clothes and floor. "If I knew, what will happen with those eggs outcome, would ask Rufus to dump you grand-grandmother, let them rest in peace!"

"Drack, is that you, old rickety?" krogan female shifted uncomfortably. "What are you doing here?"

"I’m working, you, little scum! And what are you doing here – that is the question!" 

Drack made one more step forward, carefully moving Ryder from the line of fire and Reyes suddenly felt himself eternally grateful to the old krogan.

"Come on, leave Vidal alone, he has his hands full without you."

From the darkness of the door frame someone snorted sarcastically:

"That’s for sure! When Tempest lands on Kadara, he has his hands full, and not only hands, Ryder takes care of that."

"Pelessaria!"

“And here comes Harper”, Reyes understood and smiled, flattered. Rescue operation was planned with all seriousness.

"Drop your shitty gun, Riv, and fast, then maybe we’ll let you, fools, go. Don’t know, though, it’s up to the boss."

"Boss?! Since when did you become Initiative errand boy, Drack? You were a legend, the greatest warrior! And now what? What are you now, a pawn for some stupid kid?"

As she spoke, the barrel of her gun, already warm but still very hard, kept making contact with his poor head and Reyes was silently cursing her lively gesticulation.

"And what did we do? Vidal is scum and thug, he deserves all this, but my guys and I just want normal lives!"

"Enough," said Scott, effectively finishing debates. Reyes smelled ozone and felt well known tingling, so he closed his eyes. Just in time. He heard the sound of breaking armour and crackle of bursting fabric, then felt the floor vibrate. Someone shouted after a few shots, and then it was silence. In a moment someone started to untie his twisted hands. He moved his shoulders and moaned – pain was almost unbearable, and his head hurt as hell too.

"How are you?" Scott asked. He was kneeling near Reyes, trying to see his face and rubbing his wrists, like in some stupid movie. It was not helping at all and even made things worse, but Reyes didn’t stop him.

"Fine, Scott, just wonder, what the fuck are you doing here?" he spat, probably angrier than intended. Scott froze, let go of his hands and gave him a kicked puppy eyes.

"Keema wrote yesterday, that you were missing, so…"

He faltered and looked away, finding some spot on a wall above Reyes’s shoulder. Vidal immediately felt himself like a last jerk.

PeeBee finished thought for Scott: "He freaked out all right, Vidal," she said cheerfully, still poking through the unconscious kidnappers' stuff. "Kallo took our baby through paces, I’m telling you."

"How did you find me?"

"That’s SAM," PeeBee ignored Harper, glaring daggers from the entrance. "He traced your omni by those trillions of messages you send each other, made some kind of digital signature. Ryder couldn’t help himself and played detective a little – you know, asked your angaran pal, if there was somebody who wanted you dead more than others, checked some security feeds and then jumped in Nomad and raced to this shithole. Four hours! My poor bladder, if you only knew…"

Cora silently took asari’s hand and rushed her outside, giving Reyes the last stern look. Drack left earlier, dragging his unconscious relative away, so now it was just them, along with one dead body (friendly fire, shit happens) and one unconscious guy too heavy for PeeBee.

"Why are you so angry?" Scott asked like he really didn’t understand. "I just wanted to help…"

"Like hell you were…" Reyes was sick of that chair and tried to stand up. Too fast judging from suddenly spinning room. Ryder was already on him, supporting Reyes like he was his beloved and deeply helpless grand grandmother.

"Let me think. First of all, I have a spec ops team for such situations and Keema is fully aware of it."

"She said, it would draw unnecessary attention," Scott sounded awfully calm and reasonable. He carefully helped Reyes to get to the nearest wall. "Said, it would be strange for Collective’s best of the best to save some third-rate smuggler, you know? Especially since you are not officially involved with the Collective."

"Dios, I’m so sick of this “third rate smuggler” shit," Reyes brought fingers to his nape and winced at the blood he found there. "I'm very good smuggler. One of the best, actually."

"Okay, if you say so," Ryder smiled and moved closer. He fished out the roller with medigel, took off his gloves and started to apply it as carefully as he could with his bare fingers. "Come on, don’t be angry."

"I can’t, Scott," he rubbed his nose bridge trying to soothe the awful headache. Medigel was stinging like hell but brought relief too, so Reyes didn’t stop Scott’s manipulations. "I’m trying but I can’t. I don’t want to owe anyone, especially you. And that’s not even the point. You wanted to help? Well, thank you! All you had to do was give Keema the coordinates, it would be absolutely enough."

He sucked a breath through clenched teeth when Ryder started to apply gel on a deep cut on his cheekbone, but didn’t lose his thought:

"What did you do instead? Just jumped in your Nomad and showed up here having no idea what the fuck is going on! And what if it was an ambush? What if something would happen to you?"

Scott’s face changed suddenly. He snapped away his hand like it was burned, wiped off blood mixed with medigel and let out hard breath. It was a clear indication that Reyes was in trouble.

"And what if something had happened to you, Reyes?" Scott hissed and Reyes was kind of glad that they were all alone here. To have an audience for such discussion was even worse than to have such discussion in the first place.

"That’s my fate then, Ryder!" he snapped. "My job description does not have “happily ever after” option, if you didn’t know."

"And what would I do without you, you selfish bastard? Did you think about it?!"

"What do you mean?" Reyes looked up at Scott and bewilderment in his eyes must’ve been quite believable because Ryder just stopped breathing at all and just stared at Vidal with those surprised blue eyes.

"You… You were serious, weren’t you? That all this," he waved between them,"is just a fling? That we are... “What do you mean?” Fuck, Reyes!"

"What’s up, Ryder? I didn’t say anything wrong, did I?"

"I just… I thought… What about our messages?"

Reyes shrugged:

"It would be stupid to lose contact, you know."

"So, you are saying, that all we have is just sex?"

"And business. I guess, 80/20."

"You are even not that good." Reyes just lifted his eyebrow. "OK, you are that good. Cocky asshole, could you at least pretend to give it a thought? Anyway, Reyes… Do you really think that I don’t care? That I won’t come to help? That I regularly visit this shithole for a simple fuck?"

"No, didn't think so," he made wide fake smile, feeling some blood on his chin from split lip. "Of course, you will come, where else you can find first rate smuggler, who’s also by pure coincidence running a planet and is an awesome fuck?"

Ryder said nothing and just took a deep breath. Reyes was silent too and felt himself like a rabbit in the headlights. He almost forgot this feeling.

"Look, Scott, I’m a big boy. There’s no need for all this," he held his eyes, knowing that Scott won’t be able to read anything. "You don’t owe me – all these messages, dates… I know you; you are so… honourable and nice and tender. But I understand, I really do. And... I do deserve it; totally agree on this one with our fellow krogan lady. She may not be a genius, but she has reason here."

Ryder was still silent, and by the look in his eyes Reyes guessed, that he was talking to SAM.

"No!" he suddenly blurted, coming out of his stupor, "she has no reason at all."

He pressed Reyes into the wall, like he wanted to prove something, and then pressed himself into the Reyes with all his strength.

"I’m messaging you every fucking hour because I want to," he continued, staying so close that they shared a breath, "I’m sending Tempest to Kadara on the smallest opportunity because I want to, Reyes. Want to see you, talk to you. Wake up with you, for the fuck sake."

Reyes returned to senses enough to put his hands on Scotts waist, but not enough to speak.

"You may not be the most law-abiding and honest person in the galaxy, but you don’t try to pretend to be someone else. You are who you are, Reyes, and always were, from the very beginning… and I want… damn, Reyes, I want you, and only you. So much."

He summarized his speech with the firm (and painful) kiss, but Reyes decided he could live with it.

"I want you too, Ryder. Just for your information."

"I’m not… Not in this way…" he was lost for words, so charming and sincere. "Well, in this way too, because you make me feel so good, and I’m not… with anyone else… I mean… after we… after you…"

"Yes, I got it. Me too."

"Seriously?!"

"Ryder," this time his smile was small but genuine, "come on, I’m murderer, thief and scoundrel, I’m just a grease under the nails, and have the full right for doubts. But you? You are our golden boy, knight in shining armour. So sweet, so smart, so funny, so… Perfect. People are crazy about you. And I’m no exception."

"That’s not true," looked like Scott had decided that they were done with the conflict, so he moved away and returned to his field first aid. “He doesn’t want it to scar” – Reyes thought and it made him a bit happier. Meanwhile Scott tried his best not to inflict pain (but didn’t succeed) so Reyes felt like crying from this strange tenderness (and unbearable stinging).

"You are an exception. You are exceptional, Reyes."

Reyes shook his head, but smiled anyway. Black and cold and unpleasant hid somewhere inside and didn’t show up any more. Reyes felt like he was filled with something opposite, something bright and shiny and beautiful and he didn’t want to think about it in the middle of some random warehouse with his face broken. Instead he just cradled Ryder’s chin and gave him deep and hungry kiss, forgetting his own pain. Scott moaned, tightened his hand in hair and moved his hips closer, and it was so good and perfectly right… 

"Wait a minute," Ryder was coming to his senses after a kiss and was not going anywhere, but Reyes still caught him by some strap of the armour and pulled him closer. "Do I understand it correctly, that while I was in deadly danger, you were just hanging around eavesdropping?"

"Come on, nobody was going to kill you. And your precious health was under tight control of three biotics and enhanced AI. That was SAM’s idea to turn off stealth mode right before entering. To make sure no one got jumpy with their finger on the trigger." Scott put medigel back into one of his pockets and continued. "By the way, he said, that you were definitely lying telling your sad story about our so-called fling. You know, he even had to create unique protocol, standard lie detection doesn’t work with you."

"It must be against the law," Reyes said dryly but felt that his face grew hotter.

"There are no laws on Kadara. Especially ones about the prohibition of reactions and vitals analysis."

"Actually, I’ve just issued one."

"Smartass," Scott tried to sound offended, but his hands immediately wandered to the mentioned ass.

“Is there any way for me and the Pathfinder to avoid responsibility in regards of recently issued Royal Act on prohibition of reactions and vitals analysis and control?”

SAM lowered the volume of this voice but it still sounded quite loud and scary in the emptiness of the room.

"Is that a joke or…?"

Ryder didn’t answer and just shrugged, still smiling.

"Well. The law is not retroactive and is not applicable on events that took place beforehand."

“That was a joke, Mr. Vidal, but I appreciate your detailed answer. Before switching back to sleeping mode, Ryder, I must warn you that Mr. Vidal is currently suffering from injuries sustained in last 16 hours. He also has symptoms of light concussion and severe dehydration. More so, his heart rate is out of charts for his age and constitution. I recommend immediate consultation with Dr. T’Perro and avoidance of any additional activities in the nearest 24 hours.”

"See? Hands off the injured man!"

"But SAM," Scott ignored his words and kept hands on him, "Reyes insists that all I need from him are those “additional activities”.

"Please, I got it, got it. Stop scoffing, will you? You want relations – you’ll get relations, all right? Do we really need to discuss it right here right now? Your team is waiting, so maybe we’ll just go? They hate me enough already…"

"Don’t worry, it’s only Liam who really hates you," argued Ryder and didn’t let it slide. "I just wonder, why are you so surprised? What did you expect – that I’ll hit my head one day and forget about your existence? Move to another galaxy? Or what?"

"I don’t know. I didn’t plan it this far. I was sure that you’ll leave as soon as... well… you’ll… understand everything. After Draullir – for sure."

The sounds of hushed shots, growling and some krogan swearing came from outside. Reyes glanced on the door, hoping to quit terrifying discussion, but Ryder didn’t turn a hair. He was going to bring their talk to some logical end.

"Do I really seem that immature?" He was smiling and his thumb was unconsciously drawing circles on the Reyes’ wrist – a bit too intimate for his liking.

"Reyes, if I were you, I wouldn’t tell the guy I knew for three weeks, even as cool as me, that I’m secret head of crime syndicate and plan a coup. It’s called sanity."

"It’s not very popular opinion, you know."

"And how it was before?" Ryder asked with lively interest. "With others?"

"I’d recommend to consult with my ex, but as you already killed her, so…"

"See, I’m not that sweet, and this horrible thing in my brain…"

"Of course, you are not sweet, Scott," Reyes knew that Ryder hated to talk about his implant, "you are broccoli, quinoa and oxygen cocktail, you make me better without any effort. And mostly by oral admission as well"

He wiggled his eyebrows and at last prevailed: Ryder gave him a boyish laugh and stopped asking awkward questions. He butted Reyes in a shoulder, coaxing like some big and warm creature. Sometimes he acted like this – like he wanted to get under Vidal’s skin, melt into him, touch everywhere at once. “I want to swallow you whole” – he once heard from angaran adventuress in quite similar situation. Probably, they’d find common ground with Ryder.

"I always had a thing for smart men," Ryder confessed, pressing his wet lips to Reyes’s temple. His eyes were shining. "And with you… it’s like gravity, like black hole, and it scares the shit out of me. By the way, not sure if it’s normal, but when I saw you here… I got half hard, you know?"

"Mmmm, role playing," Reyes tried to stay cool, but if he was honest with himself – he felt those gravity too. And his heart was beating like crazy – so Scott wouldn’t even need SAM to find it out. "What to tie me to that chair again and beat the shit out of me?"

"No," Scott just held him not allowing to avert his eyes, "I want you to take me from behind, on my knees, back to chest, want your fingers on my throat, want you to go fast and hard, just how I like it so I’d have to hold on headboard and…"

Reyes didn’t let him finish. He felt like he was burning from inside, like he was a volcano ready to erupt and Scott, with his shining eyes and fucking wet sweet mouth, did nothing to prevent the explosion.

"Well," Reyes breathed out much later, trying to focus on anything else than other man’s lips, wet and swollen, "your place or mine? I’d say, yours is better, especially since my bed doesn’t have headboard. Stop in the medbay wouldn’t hurt. And in the showers too."

Scott snorted, tracing short hairs on the back of his head, not taken aback by dried blood there. His breath, caressing cheek and chin, was unbelievably hot and ignited some strange reaction in Reyes’s body, reaction that couldn’t be explained only by good old lust.

"It must always be as you say and as you wish, huh?" Scott’s voice carried some challenge, but his eyes were entirely different story, they were soft and held something. Reyes was not sure he wanted to get the meaning of that look yet.

"Well, usually, yes," he agreed and gave Scott naughty grin, "but you know, I’m always open for some Initiative…"

Ryder laughed again, shaking his head, like he didn’t believe that Reyes really just said it or that he found it funny himself.

"You know, from all of your puns this one is particularly awful," he said.

"Thanks, I do my best."


	3. Chapter 3

Scott let Cora drive as an exception and got on a back-seat together with Reyes and PeeBee. Asari gave them strange looks all the way – like a kid in a zoo, saying “Come on, do something weird”. Reyes barely kept himself from making a show and only gave Ryder short kiss on a temple as a gratitude for rescue. Scott seemed to understand Reyes without words and just beamed.

Then it was a two-hour bumpy ride to the extraction point (Reyes even managed to sleep on Scott’s shoulder), medbay and asari doctor with cold hands and even colder eyes.

"Ryder. If tomorrow turns up – and I’ll check – that my patient has new bruises or his stitches break, I swear, I’ll make you chew your daily Omega–3 dose."

"Hey, that’s not fair" Scott resented, but his face held a clear mix of panic and disgust. "He is an adult himself."

"See, someone cares for my well being," Reyes said, but when the doctor just stared at them both with no smile in alien eyes, he understood that he was dancing with the devil.

Then there was shower, not very hot, but at least clear and not sulfur-smelling, and after that – there were headboard, and fingers on throat, fast and hard, and everything Reyes didn’t even know he missed so very much. Like drenched, hot Ryder, breathtakingly arching his back and moving with him in some frantic pace and harshly whispering his name while coming.

Reyes waited for last waves of orgasm to fade and then pulled Scott over, face down on the pillows, spread his sweat-covered buttocks and switched his cock with his tongue. Ryder made some strange sound, but anyway spread his legs even wider and painfully tangled his hand in Reyes’s hair. His other hand was clutching the pillow like it was his last resort.

"You’ll be the death of me," he mumbled, but later, when Reyes urged him to turn and lay on his back, Scott moaned and eagerly obliged, even making an effort not to push into others man mouth too hard.

"Come on, that’s enough," Ryder had both of his hands tangled in Vidal’s hair now, and pulled short strands so tenderly. "I want to come with your cock inside me, Shena, I missed it dearly."

When Reyes decided that it really was enough, he didn’t feel his tongue and his jaw hurt like hell. But it was totally worth it – Ryder, laying under him, barely alive and shaking with arousal, biting his knuckles and yearning with all his body, unbelievably beautiful and his own, completely.

***

Later he laid on his side and stared through the window, right into the dark-dark space with the bright line of Govorkam light, trying not to fall asleep. Scott, on the contrary, was disgustingly awake and once again in hyper kinaesthetic state, gently rubbing Reyes’ neck and shoulder blades with his nose, kissing birthmarks and scratches on his back – he left those himself while coming the second time, untouched and messy – and caressing his hair.

"You know what I’m thinking? I think I want to kidnap you myself," he informed Reyes, strangely happy and dived under his hand, digging chin into his ribs. It looked more like some fight lock than a hug, but Reyes was in no mood to complain. "We should be on Voeld right now, so I can just give a word and, as we are orbiting Kadara, you won’t have a chance to do anything."

Reyes just smiled and kissed salty top of his head. He didn’t want to voice his thoughts about it, at least for now, but had hoped that Ryder will get it himself.

"Just for your information – I’m not worth a dime," he said swallowing a yawn. "And by the way, what happened to my initial snatchers?"

"Oh, are you concerned about them?" it was a clear smile in Ryder’s voice. "I always knew, that deep inside you’re the sweetest cinnamon roll."

"How do you know, maybe I want to execute them myself? Exemplarily horribly. Biblical scale."

"Yeah, yeah," it was getting harder and harder to deceive Ryder. "Everyone’s fine. Well, except that guy, killed by friendly fire. Gave them instructions on return from exile procedure and Kandros contacts. If you want, I’ll get more details next time we are at the station."

"Will you have problems with the Nexus because of this escapade? Can I help?"

"No worries. Vetra reported a fire in the cargo bay, so we’ve just written off fuel and ammunition. We now even have scheduled visit to the Port for restocking. Officially – that’s all pyjack’s fault."

"This woman is far too good for the Initiative," – mumbled Reyes into his pillow, as Ryder turned him on his stomach and continued his ministrations. "I’m planning on poaching her as soon as possible."

"Over my dead body, Vidal." – Scott kissed his atlas, clearly asking for the third round, insatiable sadist. "Really, forget it, okay? Nexus won’t even notice. And it was because of me, right? They wanted to get to me by attacking you."

"True, I didn’t think about it this way. That’s just you are the one getting in trouble all the time and I’m watching you from the shadows and go out of my mind with worry," he relaxed under strong hands kneading his aching muscles, drifting into a sleep. "I imagine Keema’s reaction. She always said you were going to be one big problem, from the very beginning."

Ryder suddenly stopped fussing and turned Reyes on his back so he could see his face.

"You are worried about me, aren’t you?"

It was clear that Reyes slipped and it was too late to back–pedal, but there was no harm in trying:

"That’s a metaphor…

"Come on, Reyes," Scott gave him predatory smile. He effectively locked Reyes in place, straddling him. "It’s so easy to tell the truth."

"How would I know," Reyes answered more by the force of habit. There was something wet and warm on his skin, right under Ryder, and he felt feverish upon understanding. His hands moved on their own accord, touching curves of Scott’s body and he was getting hard despite exhaustion. "What do you want me to say?"

Ryder snorted:

"Reyes, I’m not forcing your confess…" he stopped short and flushed. "Forget it."

"Hell no," Reyes didn’t miss a chance to mock, "finish you thought."

"Okay, okay." Scott frowned, too serious for a person leaking with someone's come, if you asked Reyes. "I was wrong, I shouldn’t have pushed it."

Reyes draw a breath and sit up, giving the last bits of energy he had in his totally spent body, hugged Scott and kissed old half visible scar on his right eyebrow. And then he tried to put all his eerie and abstract feelings in some kind of words.

"You know it already, Scott," he whispered at last. "You know it, don’t you?"

For a few long seconds Scott stayed silent and just looked him straight into the eyes, outshined with Kadara’s golden light. And then he smiled and said: "Yes."

Reyes was a bit taken aback by the weight of the moment and didn’t come to his senses immediately. Though intensity of feelings woke him enough to abruptly knock Scott down on his back and give him a proper kiss. He wriggled a bit making himself comfortable, brushed strayed locks of hair from his eyes and suddenly met serious and attentive stare.

"What are you gawking at?" he asked, alleviating harsh words with the smile.

"I kinda like you, y’know," Ryder replied and smiled too.

"Is that so? I had no idea"

"Such a handsome bastard."

"My dashing looks is the result of numerous plastic surgeries," Reyes dropped his voice like he was sharing some well-kept secret. "Before that I was white like milk, had bulbous nose and tiny pig eyes and sparse red hair. And my mouth… I didn’t have one. At all."

While Ryder kept laughing, he didn’t waste time and trailed kisses from Scott’s neck to his abdomen stopping there for a moment.

"It’s very inconvenient of you to be so perfectly fit," he said, taking a closer look at Scott’s six-pack abs.

"Whaaat?"

"I always wanted to fuck you upright, you know, manhandle you against some wall, rip your clothes off and… so on." He placed a kiss on Scott’s abs. "But I in no way can hold eighty plus kilos of the finest Pathfinder in such an uncomfortable position for so long."

Instead of answering in the same fashion or at least giving it a laugh, Scott frowned, thinking. Reyes was ready to start making excuses, when Ryder darted off the bed, urged Reyes to follow and fished out his underwear from the pile on the floor.

"You’ve decided to get rid of me after all?" Reyes asked while Ryder was getting in his own boxers. "But darling, where would I go, it’s open space outside, can we at least wait till morning?"

"There’s an option," – Scott said and his eyes were shining enthusiastically. It could be a bit scary, but not for Reyes. "But we have to neutralize PeeBee first."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to split the text so it's easier to read. Enjoy :)


End file.
